Walker Among Wizards
by CokeFryChezbrgr
Summary: Ryu is an extremely powerful wizard. He practices Elemental magic, allowing him to control air, fire, water, ice, and earth. The only problem is: he gets angry and ends up hurting people. He keeps from hurting anyone else by distancing himself. Now, he's traveling the country looking for someone, hoping that they will be able to help him. Heavy violence and some language.
1. Chapter 1

Walker Among Wizards

Prologue

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Ryu, it's time for you to leave."

"But Igneel, I still have a lot to learn. For one, I don't know how to control my outbursts. What if I...hurt someone else? I can't live like this! You have to teach me!"

"ENOUGH! You've been here for 19 years. You've gone off on your own many times before. You've defeated assassins, toppled Dark Guilds. It's time you leave for good. Find your own path."

"But you all told me it's my duty to protect everyone. To make sure nothing bad happens. How can I make my own path if it's already been laid out in front of me?"

"You can't protect everyone. Nobody can. Protect those you can. Fight for those who can't fight for themselves. But your life is your own. Nobody can decide it for you, and nobody can live it but you. Find others like you. Make friends. Allies. "

"But...I don't even know where to start. My whole life I've lived with the dragons and spirits. The only towns I've been to...I don't want that to happen again. I don't want to make friends. I don't want to hurt anyone else I care about. I don't want to lose control again."

"Then find someone who can teach you. Find another Master. Find people who can help."

"But where can I find something like that?"

"...Do you remember Natsu?"

Four Months Later

Ryu sat at his fire, stoking the flames with hands. The cold of the night didn't affect his body, but the light of the flames kept him comfortable. Being able to see across the clearing made it hard for anyone - or anything - to stay concealed long enough to sneak up on him. As his eyes slowly started closing, he shook himself awake long enough to throw dirt on the flames and douse the fire. After the smoke cleared, he rolled out his sleeping mat and lay it on a flat piece of ground. Just like most nights, he made sure nothing was around him, then used his Earth Mover magic to raise a dome of rock over himself, with a small opening at one end to let air in and out. Sleep soon overtook him and he fell into a familiar dream. One that followed him wherever he went.

There he was, standing in a small town. The streets were lined with small houses and shops. The stone roads had been newly washed and swept. The houses themselves were clearly taken care of, as there were hardly any spots or chips in the paint and the walls themselves were virtually untouched. The shops were colorful and vibrant, easy to spot yet easy on the eyes. They sold various items, ranging from food and souvenirs to magic items and household necessities.

The only thing out-of-place was the people, or rather, the lack thereof. Not a single person in sight. The houses had their doors hanging freely open. The shops were completely deserted. Ryu knew what was about to happen, but he could do nothing except watch. His body forced him to walk down the street towards the house at the end. The house with the red shutters and gold-trimmed rug laying in the doorway. He tried to stop himself from entering, but knew it was pointless, seeing as he had no power in this nightmare. As he stepped inside, he turned from side to side and took in his surroundings. To the left of the entryway sat the dining room and kitchen. In the dining room sat a small table and three chairs. As he closed the front door, he noticed two bowls of soup on the table, ready to be eaten. Ryu could smell the steamy broth, the vegetables simmered to perfection, the meat cooked just right. It all made him sick to his stomach.

Just then, two figures appeared from the hallway. Two adults, a man and woman. If Ryu didn't know already, it was easy to figure these two out as husband and wife, with the way they smiled at each other and laughed with pure joy. It made Ryu start to tear up, remembering what he was about to do. He turned around just in time to see the front door swing open, and there he was, sweating and out of breath. The Ryu from the dream was younger than the real Ryu, only about a month from his 12th birthday. The real Ryu attempted to yell out to Dream Ryu to get his attention, to warn him to stop and run away. But nothing came out of his mouth. He tried to block the entryway to the dining room, but his dream self ran through him as if he was made of vapor.

"MOM! DAD!" shouted Dream Ryu.

The adults jumped back with surprise as this beggar-looking boy rushed into their home, but once they saw the marks on the left side of his face and his left arm, their looks of shock were replaced with expressions of excitement and relief. "RYU!" they both shouted in unison. They rushed forward to meet the dream version of Ryu, but at that moment the entire house went dark and the ground started shaking vigorously. Suddenly, the sound of tearing metal and splintering wood filled the air, and the ceiling was sheared from the walls of the house. A dark figure hovered above where the kitchen ceiling used to be. The deep boom of a laughing voice shook the ground.

"Well, Walker. It's good to finally meet you," said the man in the air. "How about you introduce me to your parents?"

The figure stretched out his hand and coils of darkness sprang up from the ground and wrapped around Ryu's parents. Younger Ryu launched a fireball at the figure, but he stuck out his hand and absorbed the fire into a ball of darkness. "Maybe this will keep you from interfering with my business," he said while tightening the coils of darkness around Ryu's parents, causing them to cry out in pain.

Dream Ryu screamed in desperation for the figure to stop, but the real Ryu knew what was coming. He tried to look away, but something kept his focus on the scene unfolding before him. Dream Ryu yelled in pain and hopelessness, when suddenly his eyes glowed bright red and his body began to shift. His clothes morphed with his body, his arms growing armor-like scales and turning a dark shade of crimson. His legs thickened into scales and his torso grew sleek and muscular. His fingers turned to claws and his toes turned to talons. A tail with a razor-sharp spine on either side formed from his back. His head turned slender and elongated, fangs glistening in the light of the fire in his mouth. Wings sprouted from his shoulder blades and stretched until they broke the walls of the house. Soon, a 40-foot long dragon stood where the front wall of the house used to be.

"Come, little dragon," said the dark wizard. "Your downfall starts here."

The dragon launched itself at the figure, but the man vanished in a cloud of shadows. With him gone, Dragon Ryu turned to the only ones left: his parents.

"Ryu?" said his mom in a small voice. They had been released from the shadows and were now struggling to stand up. The dragon looked at them with his glowing red eyes, then, just as he lunged at his parents, Ryu screamed, "NO!"

Ryu sat up so fast he hit his head on the ceiling of his stone tent. He started rubbing his forehead when he looked out of the opening. It was still dark out, but he could see some light poking out from behind the mountains. Daybreak. He figured he wouldn't be able to sleep after his nightmare, so he began packing his belongings. After everything was tucked away in his pack, he brought out his canteen and drank the rest of his water. He then used his magic to bring the rock tent back into the ground like nothing ever happened. After a quick trip to the stream to refill his water, he placed his canteen in his pack and shouldered it. A quick adjustment later and he was on his way down the mountain.

As he walked, Ryu thought about the route he needed to take. The woman in the last town told him to take the main road until he got to the Magnolia turnoff, then take that all the way to the town. After he stated that he didn't want to take any main roads, she told him to follow the mountain trail until he found the triple split in the path, then take the right path until he reached the west part of Magnolia. He hadn't found any splits in the trail yet, but it was just a matter of time. He hadn't had a meal in the past two days due to lack of money and rabbits. All he wanted was some meat. The forest wasn't showing any signs of any animals nearby. I should've kept some of that fish instead of eating it all at once, he thought to himself. He would even settle for some berries, but there were no berry bushes in sight. He decided it would be best to get to his destination as fast as he could and hope he could get some food once he made it. His stomach growled in protest, but he just patted it and started the final sprint of his journey. After walking for about five minutes, he finally came upon the split in the road. Sure enough, the path to the right had a sign with "Magnolia -" written on it.

Taking a look down the path, he could see the roofs of houses beyond the treeline. Further in the distance, the towers of a large building loomed over the rest of the town, its banners hung proudly over the front. The guild which Ryu was seeking was now in sight.

"Fairy Tail, here I come."

Part 1

Chapter 1

Magnolia At Last

Ryu was growing weaker by the minute. He needed a meal. Anything to keep walking without stumbling over pebbles and hearing his stomach complain every few seconds. After walking another 50 feet, he couldn't take it anymore. He looked up at the sun, took note of the direction and position of it in the sky, and ran off the trail towards the river. Crashing through bushes and running into trees, he sprinted towards the sound of running water. He pushed his way through a bush and almost fell into the stream. He quickly scanned the water for any fish that might be swimming by, but almost screamed when he didn't find anything. Frustrated, he used his Elemental Magic and froze a small section of the river and extended the ice into a tree. Not wanting to leave ice sticking out of the stream and attached to a tree, he turned the ice back to water and threw it into the river.

He was about to return to the trail when he almost stepped on something small and round. He bent down to pick it up and almost yelled in excitement. He looked up at the tree he had just finished punishing, and to his relief, found dozens of apples hanging from the branches. Not wasting a single second, he quickly ate the apple in his hand and summoned a small whirlwind to knock down some more fruit. He ate four of them and stuffed the rest into his pack. Feeling reinvigorated, he looked up at the sun once more to note his position, then trudged off through the brush towards the trail.

Ryu reached the trail and turned in the direction of the town in the distance. After walking for another uneventful half hour, he was finally clear of the forest. The town of Magnolia spread out before him. 30 feet in front of him was the city border. In front of him, buildings flanked either side as far as he could see. The roads were bustling with people going about their daily routines. Some were running packages from building to building while others were browsing through shops. The people all looked proud and joyful, which was an unfamiliar sight to Ryu, considering the towns he usually visited were either being actively destroyed or taken over. Seeing a thriving city with happy people was refreshing, but a little unsettling.

Ryu wandered over to a vendor on the sidewalk who was selling various hors d'oeuvres. Looking at the meat on the kabobs made Ryu's mouth water, but he quickly shook off his hunger and walked up to the man. "Excuse me," he said with a friendly smile on his face. "What's the fastest way to get to Fairy Tail?"

"Ah! You want to become a powerful wizard?" asked the man, a kabob in each hand.

"Not exactly. I'm looking for someone who's part of the guild."

"Ah. Well, just take this main street down until you get to the Magnolia Town Inn. Turn left and follow that street until you reach the market. Turn right and take that down all the way to the guild."

"Thank you. And I'll be back for some of those kabobs."

"Here, have one on the house. You're going to become a part of Fairy Tail!" exclaimed the man, holding out his right hand.

Ryu looked at the food with a longing for meat, but remembered that he was only there to find one person. "No, thank you. I won't be joining."

The vendor looked at him curiously, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with him. "Well then, maybe this will change your mind," the man said with his arm stretched outwards.

Sighing, Ryu took the snack and thanked the man. After taking a bite, he said to the vendor, "This is very good," then turned around and headed off down the street. The Walking down the street reminded Ryu of his hometown, which instantly made him sad and angry. Thinking about his town made him lose his appetite, so he looked around and spotted and dumpster. He walked up to it and threw the kabob into the trash. He continued walking down the street towards the inn that stood 3 blocks away.

As he walked, he wondered how he was going to explain to Natsu what he was doing there. Most people didn't believe Ryu when he told them exactly what he was. Of course, he usually followed up by beating the pulp out of the other guy, who happened to be the leader of a dark guild or anything like that. At the end of the day, they usually believed him. Sadly, Ryu would have to find a way to show that he was a Spirit Walker that didn't involve an altercation. It would be hard enough to explain his connection to the human world and spirit world, but he also had to explain that he knew about Natsu and the other dragon slayers but they knew nothing about him. He decided to cross that bridge when he came upon it, and instead to focus on getting to the guild.

He came up to the inn and turned left down the road. As he walked, he looked from side to side, taking note of the people roaming around him. He quickly glanced over the families and noticed a few people take quick peeks at him then turning away. Looking down, he saw that his clothes were covered in mud and dirt. He lifted his hand to the top of his head and found his hair clumped up and wild. No doubt he looked like a crazy drifter. He knew he wasn't crazy, but the drifter part suited him quite well. He quickly darted into an alley and hid behind a building. He took off his backpack and set it down. He then took off his top and held it in front of him with his left hand. He held out his right hand and a jet of water shot out and sprayed the shirt down. He continued until it was thoroughly soaked and the dirt was gone. He lit his hand on fire and orange flames licked across his shirt. After a few seconds, the flames dissipated the shirt was clean and dry. Next, he shot some water on his head and rubbed his hair with his hands until it was flat and mostly dry.

He put his shirt back on and shouldered his pack. He was about to emerge from the alley when a hand grabbed him by the arm and turned him around. A person with a mask covering everything but his eyes stood with a dagger pointed at Ryu. Behind him, two other men stood with blades drawn. The one in front said, "Empty your pockets and throw your pack on the ground." His voice sounded like someone around Ryu's age, although Ryu didn't know exactly how old he was himself. Ryu remained still, glancing at each of the thugs over and over.

"Hey! Are you deaf? Empty your pockets and put your backpack down!" yelled the one in front. Ryu looked straight in his eyes and took a step forward. The guy backed up and pointed his knife out farther. "Don't come any closer! Just do what I said!"

Ryu looked at the other guys behind him and back at the one in front. He slowly removed the left strap of his pack from his shoulder, then his right one. He set the pack down, but instead of giving to the thieves, he put it down behind him.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Hand it over!"

Ryu held his hands up and placed his right fist in his left hand, cracking his knuckles. "You know, I don't take kindly to people telling me what to do. Especially when those people are low-life thugs." He tilted his head to the side and cracked his neck.

"Hey! Don't try anything! We're the ones with the knives!"

"Which is why I'd start running if I were you." A look of confusion passed over the thieves. Ryu lifted his right leg slightly and slammed it into the ground a few inches behind him. His foot broke through the ground and sank three inches down. The thieves gasped and backed up a few steps. Ryu thrust out his right fist and a gust of icy wind burst out and knocked the thieves backwards into the air and out of the alley, blasting the masks off their faces. He heard a few people gasp and two women scream. The three guys picked themselves up and ran off. Ryu lifted his foot and fixed the ground back the way it was. He turned around and picked up his pack, shouldering it once again. "In town for ten minutes and already an attempted mugging," he said to himself. He walked out of the alley, people staring at him like he was a weird creature they've never seen before. _Not that far off, _he thought to himself. He waved to a family on his left and started down the street towards Fairy Tail.

"I wonder where those kids ran off to," he said quietly to himself. "Bet they got themselves arrested." Ryu continued down the street toward the guild, which he could now see in the distance. As he walked, he wondered what was in store for him once he got to his destination. He wondered what the building would look like up close and what he would do when he got there. It'd be weird walking in and seeing a bunch of friendly faces. Most of the guilds he'd been to before were subsequently destroyed. He started to remember his time in Velder, but he shook his head and hit himself on the temple. He didn't want those memories. He wished he could just forget everything that happened that day. He was so deep in thought he didn't notice the group of people running at him until they were 20 feet away. 

* * *

"Master! The new jobs are here!" Mirajane walked up the stairs to the second floor. She carried with her a small stack of posters, each detailing a job that needed to be done.

"Ah, great! What have we got for us this time?" Makarov was sitting on the railing overlooking the first floor of the guild hall. He liked sitting there. He got to see all his students and keep an eye on what they were doing. They were always making trouble when they had the time. Right now they were all drinking, eating, laughing, and generally having a great time. With the real troublemakers gone, everything was relatively calm.

"Well, we have...six-no, seven jobs. One for bodyguards, two for protection of valuables, oh."

"Oh what?"

"We have what looks like two S-Class jobs this time. This one calls for protection of a town from a guild. Looks like the guild has been harassing the townspeople for money. They're offering two million upon completion."

"That doesn't sound like an S-Class job to me," Makarov said curiously.

"The guild has over 150 members. They're all well-practiced and deadly."

"Well, that makes more sense. What's the other one?"

"A town has been hearing strange noises coming from a nearby mountain. Snow has covered the mountain but not the surrounding hills or the town. They think there's a monster out there of some sort. It doesn't sound like much, but they're willing to pay…" Mira's voice trailed off as she stared at the job poster, her eyes wide.

Makarov looked over his shoulder at Mira. Seeing the panicked expression on her face, he jumped down off the railing to the floor. "What's wrong? What's the matter?"

Mira looked up at him, her mouth wide open. "The reward is 15 million jewels."

Makarov stared at her, his eyes glazed over, mouth agape. He tried to say something, but his voice kept catching in his throat. Mira tilted her head slightly to her right. "Master, are you ok?"

Finally Makarov regained his composure and coughed once. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. 15 million for one job?! There has to be something else going on there that they're not telling us."

"So should I post it on the board? Or should we rule this one out?"

"I'll leave that up to you. If you think it's legitimate and someone here would be willing to do it, then go ahead." With that, Makarov jumped back on the railing, resuming his watch over the other guild members.

Down below on the first floor, everyone was laughing and telling stories. Cana was sitting at one of the middle tables, drinking a keg of booze while Macao sat next to her with a pint in his hand. Team Shadow Gear was over at one of the far tables, with Jet and Droy sitting on either side of Levy, cheering her on while she tried to decipher an entry from yet another book from the library. She had gotten used to the cheering over the years. Even though the tasks she was trying to do required only patience, she had come to find the praise from the boys relaxing. Gajeel was sitting across from them at the other end of the table, feet propped up and a plate of food in his hands. He chowed down on a roll of bread and was about to start on the meat when he froze suddenly. He swung his legs down off the table and quickly stood up, knocking over his food.

Levy gasped as a piece of meat landed on her book. She looked at Gajeel and started to complain when she noticed him staring straight ahead. Jet shouted, "Gajeel! What're you doing? Are you trying to mess up Levy-san's hard work?!"

Levy kept her gaze on Gajeel. "What's wrong?" He had only been a member of the guild for a week, but she knew him well enough to know he didn't spook easily. She had a hard time imagining something that can worry the guy that beat her, Jet and Droy and tied them to a tree.

By now, some of the others were staring at Gajeel. "Everything all right over there, Levy?" Macao asked in a raised voice.

Gajeel twisted around and looked at the front door. Three men wearing black ran into the guild hall, sweating and out of breath. Two of them doubled over, hands on their knees and trying to get some air into their lungs. The one in the middle pointed outside while gasping for air. After a few seconds of deep breaths, he finally blurted out, "There's this scary guy in town that attacked us!"

Makarov jumped down from his perch and walked towards the three men. He recognized them. They were a group of close friends who had known each other since they were kids. They were about 17 years old and didn't cause any trouble. "What do you mean scary guy? Where?"

"We were minding our business by the market when he came at us! He just punched the air and we flew backwards like ragdolls! I saw him start walking this way!"

Makarov closed his eyes for a few brief seconds then turned to everyone else. He eyed the Thunder God Tribe, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen. "Alright, you three come with me. Elfman, you come too. We'll go find out what's going on. Everyone else, stay here and watch the guild. Let's go." He looked at the three young men. "You're coming with us too. Show us where he is." Together they all ran out of the front door and down the main street. They crossed the waterway that separated the guild from the town and were three houses down when one of the men that was with them stopped abruptly. They all came to a halt and looked at him.

"There he is," he said, pointing at a young man about fifty feet in front of them. He had a rucksack and was wearing short sleeve top that folded over in the middle. The shirt itself was black with a purple lining. He had thick black pants made of cloth. His hair was black and his eyes were dark as midnight. He had a tattoo on the left side of his neck that continued down under his shirt. He hadn't noticed them standing there yet.

Makarov turned to his students. "Alright, let's find out who he is and what he's doing." They jogged towards him and were about 20 feet away when he looked at them and stopped. They all slowed down and stood there, watching him. He looked at each of them in turn and stopped when he got to the boys in black.

He pointed directly at them, making them step back. "So you brought backup, huh? Need some company while I beat you down again?"

Makarov stuck his arm out to the side in a protective gesture. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, right now I'm gonna teach these kids a lesson. What are you doing here, grandpa?" The young man dropped his pack and crossed his arms.

Elfman stepped forward. "Hey! You take that back! Nobody makes fun of us that way!" Makarov shot him a look of warning.

"Just hand over the thieves so I can teach them a thing or two." He turned and glared at the trio, making them step back even more.

Makarov looked over at them. "What does he mean by thieves?"

The boy in the middle turned to him, sweat pouring down his face. "I don't know! We didn't steal anything from him! I swear!"

The man stepped forward. "Yah, but you tried. Don't you still have the knives? Why don't you take them out so we can finish what you started earlier?"

Makarov looked at them each in turn. "Is that true? Did you try to steal something from him?"

The three boys looked at each other several times before the one in the middle fell to his knees. "OK! We tried to get him to give us some money! My mom's sick and I need money to help her so we thought we could get some easily! We had knives, but I didn't think we'd have to use them! He looked like a regular traveler! But he's actually a mage! And he's powerful! He might be here to destroy us or something!"

All the guild members glared at them disapprovingly. After a few moments, Makarov looked back up. "Well, they're right about one thing. We don't know what he's here for." He turned around and faced the mystery man, who was still standing in the same spot, arms crossed and looking annoyed. "So what is it you're here for?"

The man uncrossed his arms and let them fall to his sides, but his fists were still balled, ready for a fight. "I'm looking for a certain someone."

"And who might that be?"

"His name's Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. Heard of him?"

Elfman and the Thunder God Tribe opened their mouths in surprise. Makarov simply stared ahead. "Yes I have. He's one of my students and part of our guild."

The man's eyes widened a bit. His fists relaxed and his shoulders drooped. "Wait. You're Fairy Tail?"

"Yes. I'm Makarov, the guild leader. These are all my students. Except for those three," he said, pointing at the three boys with them. "Speaking of which, it's time for you to go home. I'll let you off this time, but don't let me catch you doing something like this again." With that the three of them ran off down the street, keeping their distance from the man standing on the other side. He turned and watched them run off. Makarov turned back to him. "So why are you looking for Natsu?"

The man turned around again. "I'm not really sure. I'm just supposed to find him."

Makarov raised an eyebrow, wondering what that could mean. "Who are you? What's your name?"

The man picked up his pack and shouldered it once more. "My name's Ryu Dragneel. I'm Natsu's cousin."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Welcome to Fairy Tail

Ryu walked silently behind the group of people he was just about to fight. He could feel an uneasiness coming from them. They were cautious, and they had every right to be. Ryu wasn't letting his guard down yet. He didn't know what they intended to do with him. They had invited him to go with them to the guild, to which he had said yes. Still, he wondered if they had a trap waiting for him or if they intended to arrest him. In his years of dealing with shady characters, his caution and attentiveness are the only things that kept him alive this long.

"So," Makarov started saying. "I didn't know Natsu had any family. I've only heard about his adoptive father. How are you two related?"

Ryu hesitated to answer, but decided these people weren't enemies. At least, not yet. "My dad's brother is Natsu's dad. We haven't seen each other in a long time, though." He thought back to the last time he had seen his cousin. Back then, they were just kids. He remembered watching Natsu learning to breathe fire and having flames come out of his nose instead. He recalled the times before all the death and destruction he had experienced. Ryu didn't notice he was standing still until Makarov chimed in.

"Is everything alright?" Makarov asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking." He continued forward and together they reached the large building at the edge of town. After walking through the outer gate, there were tables spread out in the courtyard with umbrellas shading them. Ryu looked up at the towering guild hall. It looked pristine and powerful, as if it had just been built. "Is the guid new?" he asked to nobody in particular.

Elfman turned around and looked at Ryu. "We rebuilt it after our battle with Phantom Lord a few weeks ago. We did it with our bare hands because we are men!"

Evergreen shot him an annoyed look. "There are women here too you big oaf!"

"In any case," Makarov said, "the guild hall is new, but the guild itself has stood for many decades. I'm proud to call it my home." He and the others walked inside.

Ryu stood in front of the guild a bit longer. He thought about what it would be like to have a family and friends. _Stop that, _he told himself. _You can never have a family and you can't risk having friends._ He closed his eyes and concentrated. He wondered what he was even doing there. Why was he looking for his cousin? Natsu wouldn't be able to help him. Just being here put everyone in danger. He thought about turning around and leaving when someone called out to him to come inside. He stayed in the same spot for a few more seconds before walking to the front doors and pushing them aside.

The guild hall was impressive to say the least. To his right, immediately after walking in, was a board with job posters all over it. To his left stood a desk that he assumed was used for information. The floor spread out around him, with the middle of the room a bit lower that the outer floor. The middle of the hall was filled with semi-rectangular tables with chairs all around. Directly behind the tables was a stage with large curtains on either side. There was a bar on the right side of the hall with shelves stocked full of booze. There were doors on the walls to his left and right, most of which were closed, but the one nearest him on his left was open, revealing a library. Behind the stage were two sets of stairs on the left and right leading to the second floor and to the basement. The second floor overlooked the main hall, circling the walls and lined with railings. He saw another poster board on the second floor surrounded by more tables and chairs. He was still looking around, craning his neck to see ceiling above, when he felt someone standing next to him. He looked down and saw Makarov at his side.

"Wonderful, isn't it? All thanks to the hard work of these fine kids," he said proudly.

Ryu glanced around the room, looking for a spiky pink hair he remembered from so long ago. He noticed that most of the people in the room were either staring at him or stealing glances. After he scanned the room to no avail, he turned his attention back to the guild master. "So where is Natsu? I don't see him anywhere. And I can't smell him either."

Makarov raised an eyebrow at that last line. "What do you mean smell?"

Ryu ignored the question. "Where is he?"

"He's out with a few other members. They were sent on a mission to stop a dark guild from getting their hands on an ancient and powerful magic. They met with teams from some of our allied guilds. We received word today that they were on their way back, so they should be here today. You're welcome to stay and wait."

Ryu was deciding whether he should stay or not when one the the guild members walked up to him. She looked about his age, around 18 or 19. She had long white hair and her bangs were tied together in a small ponytail. She wore a maroon dress with a simple lining on the straps and midway down the dress. Her face beamed and instantly made Ryu's face red as an apple. Needless to say, she was breathtaking. She held out her hand and gave a huge smile. "Welcome to Fairy Tail! My name's Mirajane Strauss, but you can call me Mira. My brother Elfman told me about what happened outside. Is it true that you're Natsu's cousin?"

Without thinking, Ryu took her hand and shook. This girl just radiated friendliness. It was hard to keep from smiling. _This must be part of her magic or something, _he thought to himself. "Um...yeah. Yes. I'm Natsu's cousin. My name's Ryu. Ryu Dragneel. I was hoping he would be here. I traveled for four months to get here." They released each other's hands.

Mirajane's eyebrows raised slightly. "Four months? That's a very long time. You must have come from somewhere very far away."

"Oh, you have no idea."

She gave a quiet laugh before she gave him a curious look. "I didn't know Natsu had any relatives. I thought he only had his-"

Ryu held up his hand to stop her. "It's best if you wait until I talk to Natsu. I'd rather talk to him first, if you don't mind."

Makarov stepped forward. "So does that mean you're going to wait here?"

Ryu thought for a moment, then said, "No. I won't be staying. I've got some things to do. When Natsu gets back, I'd appreciate it if you told him to meet me at the lake I saw behind the guild."

Mira looked quizzically at him. "At the lake? What are you gonna do over there?"

"Training. Haven't stopped at a body of water this big in a long time. Might be getting rusty in water."

"Training? Are you a wizard too?" Mira asked excitedly.

"Not exactly. Wizard is an occupation. A magic user who uses that magic to take on jobs that people request. I don't do that. I just go around helping people."

"I see. And what kind of magic do you use?"

Makarov chimed in, "Alright, Mira. We don't want to scare the young man away."

"No, it's alright. I don't mind," said Ryu. He turned back to Mira. "I'm an Elementalist. I can control fire." He held out his hand, palm up, and summoned a small flame. "I can control water." The flame turned into water but retained its shape. "Also ice." He froze the water into a shard of ice in the shape of a flame. "And I can control air." He tilted his palm slightly forward and the ice shard drifted gently towards Mira. She opened her hands and caught it, the ice shining and capturing the colors of the rainbow inside.

Mira held it up and examined it. "Wow. This is beautiful. That was amazing!" She turned her attention back towards Ryu.

"Well, it's no biggie. Just a demonstration. I also use earth magic. I can control dirt, stone, that sort of stuff. But seeing as how the only stone in here is in the walls, I don't think I should mess with it. So, will you tell Natsu I'll be at the lake?"

Mira was still holding the ice pendant in both of her hands. She smiled at Ryu. "Of course! Is there anywhere specific I should point him to?"

Ryu shifted his pack, turned towards the door, and started walking out. "Don't worry. He'll find me."

* * *

Natsu stood up from where he'd been lying for the past five minutes. "Ugh. Finally we're off the boat. No more transportation." He lifted both arms in the air and stretched, then readjusted his travel pack on his back. He took a look around, taking a deep breath. "Good to be back. Right, Happy?" He looked to his left at the flying blue cat next to him.

"Aye, sir!" yelled Happy. He flew down to the ground and landed next to the white cat standing a few feet away. "Don't worry, Carla. You're gonna love it at Fairy Tail! It's the greatest guild ever!" Carla just stared at him, annoyed.

Lucy walked up behind them, readjusting her whip on her waist. "That's right!" She glanced at Wendy, who was standing next to Carla. "You're going to have a great time. Trust me!" She noticed Natsu standing up. "Oh, Natsu. You're back on your feet?"

Gray jumped off the boat and interjected, "It's about time. Can't believe Slanted-Eyes gets motion sickness when the ship's at a standstill."

Natsu jerked his head to the side. "You wanna say that again, perverted stripper?" His body heated up and the air around him turned fiery hot.

The air around Gray chilled and the ground at his feet turned icy. He stepped in front of Natsu and they butted heads. "Hothead!" he yelled out.

"What's going on?!" shouted a voice behind Gray.

They both instantly put their arms around each other and forced smiles on their faces. "Nothing! We were just hugging like best friends!" they said in unison.

A young woman stepped off the boat, her breastplate shining in the sunlight, her blue skirt flowing in the wind, and her long red hair capturing the sun's rays. "Good. I'm glad to see you two getting along so well. I guess you're both finally maturing."

Natsu and Gray glanced at each other then quickly looked back at the woman in front of them. "Yes, Erza!"

Wendy looked back and forth from Natsu and Gray to Erza, her blue hair swaying from side to side. She leaned over to Lucy. "Erza-san can be frightening at times, huh?"

Lucy leaned towards Wendy. "Only when the boys are fighting. Or when someone's fighting her. She's actually pretty nice when you get to know her. Usually."

Erza glanced at Wendy and smiled before walking off the dock. "Alright, let's get going. I want to be back in time for lunch." With that, they all started out of the harbor and onto the main street.

Along the way to the guild, they were greeted by many of the townspeople. Most said hello, but some asked them how their job went or how the guild was doing. They chatted with people as they walked and gave them bits and pieces of their experience taking down Oracion Seis. They would also introduce Wendy and Carla to the people who asked about them. As they passed over the bridge that connected the main part of town to the guild, the crowd dissipated and went about their day.

As they neared the guild, Natsu, who was walking up front, said loudly, "Hurry up! I'm starving! I can't wait to get some food in me after that dumb train ride." He walked with his arms behind his head and took long strides to quicken the pace.

Wendy lowered her head slightly and spoke to Natsu in a quiet voice, "Sorry, Natsu-san. I would have cast Troia on you again to help your motion sickness, but if I keep doing that, the effects will weaken and it might not work on you at all in the future."

Natsu turned his head and look back at Wendy. He gave a big smile while saying, "Ah, don't worry about it! Now it'll work when I really need it!"

Wendy looked up at him with a confused face, but after a few seconds, smiled and said, "Right! Thank you, Natsu-san!"

They reached the stairs leading up to the guild's front doors, and Natsu began running up the steps, taking them three at a time. "Let's get going! It's time for some food!" he shouted out.

The rest of Team Natsu climbed the steps behind him, not quite sharing his enthusiasm, but still wanting to get back to the others. As they reached the front doors, Natsu put his fists on his waist, took a deep breath, then shoved the doors open while yelling, "WE'RE BACK!"

Everyone in the guild hall turned at the sudden commotion. Right away, people started standing up and walking over, greeting them and asking about their mission. As Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy, and Erza talked with the others, Wendy and Carla stood back near the doors. Wendy glanced at the sight before her and gasped. "Wow! The building's so big! And there's so many more people than I thought there would be!" exclaimed Wendy as she took in her surroundings. She looked at all the smiling people around her and sensed a feeling of family between them. She felt like this place could become her new home.

"Hey everybody! There's someone here you should all meet!"

The sudden announcement shook Wendy from her thoughts and she immediately felt fear. She didn't know whether these people would accept or reject her. She was hoping for the former. She looked at Erza, who made the announcement to everyone in the room. "These are the people sent from Cait Shelter to aid us on our mission, Wendy Marvell and Carla."

Instantly, people began walking up to her and Carla and introduced themselves. Wendy smiled back at them and greeted everyone that came up to them. There were a few comments here and there about Carla and how there were now two flying cats in Fairy Tail. One of the people in front of her asked, "What kind of magic do you use?"

Wendy lowered her arms and folded her hands together in front of her. She sheepishly answered, "Um, I use Sky Dragon Slayer magic." Suddenly the room went silent. She held her breath and looked at each face in front of her and saw disbelief in all their eyes. Right when she felt she was about to pass out-

"No way!" "That's awesome!" "Now we have three Dragon Slayers!" "Are you a hothead like Natsu and Gajeel?" These remarks, along with cheering, put a smile back on Wendy's face.

* * *

"There! Now you're officially members of Fairy Tail!"

Wendy looked at the guild mark on her right shoulder and smiled brightly at Mira, who had just used the magic stamp on her. Carla, on the other hand, frowned and tried to look behind her. "I can't see mine. How does it look? Is it crooked?"

Wendy laughed and said, "It's fine! And you're always wearing a shirt, so it doesn't show anyways. You should've put it somewhere people can see it instead of your back."

Wendy looked around at all the people laughing, eating, and drinking around her and thought, _This is my family now. _She looked over at a table near her and noticed a commotion breaking out around Natsu and Gray. Lucy just rolled her eyes, stood up, and walked towards Wendy, Carla, and Mira. "So, Wendy. Now that you're part of Fairy Tail, what do you want to do?"

Wendy scrunched her eyebrows and thought for a moment before looking up and answering, "Let's go on a job!"

Carla looked up at her with a scolding look. "Don't be so eager. We just got here and it's only been one day since Oracion Seis. You should wait for at least a day before going on a job."

Wendy sighed and pouted, but then she closed her eyes and said, "You're right. I should get to know everyone here first! We should go have some fun!"

Carla looked at Wendy with a confused face. "Well, that's not exactly what I meant-"

"Ay, Natsu!" Wendy and Carla both looked up to where the booming voice came from and noticed a short, elderly man on the second floor railing. He had white hair on the sides of his head, but none on the top. He was wearing a large white coat that could cover his whole body. Wendy guessed that this was the guild master, Makarov Dreyar.

Natsu stopped punching Elfman, looked up at Makarov, and smiled. "Oh, hi Gramps! Didn't know you were here!"

Makarov grumbled, "Someone came here earlier looking for you. We told him you weren't here, so he left."

Mira looked like she remembered something and spoke up, "Oh, that's right! He said he would be waiting for you at the lake! He said his name was Ryu. He also said he's your cousin."

At this, the guild became quiet once again. Natsu was too stunned to speak. All he could do was stutter. Finally Lucy cut in. "C-cousin? I thought you didn't have any family besides Igneel. You didn't tell me you had a cousin!" She slapped Natsu on the arm, jarring him out of his daze.

"I-I don't have a cousin! At least, I don't think I have one!" Natsu blurted out, looking confused.

"Well, he said he traveled a long way to find you," Mira continued. He seemed disappointed when we told him you were gone. Also, he's quite handsome."

At the last statement, Lucy looked angrily at Mira. "What does that have to do with anything? Where at the lake is he?"

Mira shrugged, "He didn't say. He just said Natsu would find him. You should probably get going. I don't think he'll wait forever.

Natsu quickly stood up and ran for the door while shouting, "Come on, Happy!"

Lucy exclaimed, "Wait for me! I need to see this!" as she ran after them.

Wendy, who had started to climb over a chair to get to the door, yelled, "Wait for me, Lucy-san! Come on, Carla!" Carla sprouted wings from her back, grabbed Wendy by her dress, and flew her over to the others by the door.

Erza, who had been sitting quietly by herself, stood up and said, "Guess I'd better make sure they don't destroy everything. You coming, Gray?"

Gray, who was eating at a table, with Juvia sitting next to him ogling at him, said, "No thanks. I'm busy eating. Make sure that fire brain doesn't blow up the lake." Erza nodded at him, then walked out of the guild.

Mira watched as all of them exited through the front doors and sighed. Next to her, Cana, who had approached her quietly, asked, "So, he's handsome, huh?" Mira's eyes widened as she glanced at Cana.

Outside, the group ran around the side of the guild towards the lake. As he ran, Natsu whispered to himself, "Who is this guy? Claiming he's my cousin of all things. I don't have any cousins. Igneel's my only family." They ran all the way to the lake shore, and once they got there, they all stopped at the water's edge and gasped.

Even though it was a warm day in the fall, the lake was completely frozen over for at least 500 yards. There was a slight breeze, but other than that, it was completely quiet. Out in the distance, they could see a figure in the middle of the frozen area of the lake. It looked like a man dressed in black, standing on the ice with his legs slightly bent at the knees and his arms held straight out in front of him. He didn't move when they appeared on the water's edge.

Lucy leaned forward and squinted, trying to get a better look at the man on the ice. She could see that he was wearing black pants, a black vest-like shirt that came together in the middle and had short sleeves, and had black hair that seemed to be naturally flattened and spiked. She whispered, "Is that him? Ryu, was it?"

Wendy folded her hands in front of her. "What's he doing? Is he ok?"

Suddenly, the figure began to move. His arms lifted into the air and, in one swift motion, his right arm came down and struck the ice. A shockwave burst from the impact point and rapidly spread out in all directions. As it traveled, the ice lifted into the air like a wave, and when it came back down, instantly turned into water. As the wave made its way towards shore, a sound like an explosion hit the group. They covered their ears and winced, wondering what was going on. The wave of ice finally hit the shore in front of them, and once they looked back at the figure, the lake was all water and the figure was nowhere to be seen. They each looked around for him when Lucy asked, "Where'd he go? And what was that?"

The answer to her first question came in the form of pillar of rock shooting out from the middle of the lake and into the air. When it stood about 100 feet, they could see a black silhouette launch into the air 50 feet above the pillar. Once he reached the apex of his launch, they could see fire explode high into the air and the figure flew towards the pillar at an incredible speed. Right as he touched the pillar, it shattered on the top and rock flew in all directions. The rock continued to explode down the pillar until it reached the water. Once it hit, the surface of the lake exploded and a wall of water shot high into the air. Once the water settled, the lake looked like nothing had happened.

The group stood in disbelief, trying to understand what just happened. "What just happened!?" shouted Natsu. He looked at Erza, who was standing next to him.

Erza looked angrily at him and yelled, "How am I supposed to know!?"

Just then, they heard a rumbling sound coming from the lake. The surface of the water started to boil, and suddenly a fireball rose into the air, with an object flying towards them with fire trailing it. As it flew closer to them, they backed up hurriedly, except for Natsu, who just stood still, watching. Wendy cried out, "Natsu-san! Run! Get out of there!"

Instead Natsu just watched as the fireball careened towards him. Right before it hit, Natsu jumped out of the way. His efforts weren't needed, however, as the fireball landed a few feet away from where Natsu was standing, so that it would have missed anyways. They all walked forward slowly as the dust and smoke cleared. When they could see clearly, Lucy, Wendy, and Carla gasped at what stood before them. It was a boy in his late teens, about the same age as Erza. His black clothes were smoking from the fire but were otherwise undamaged. His black hair sizzled at the tips, making him look like human incense. He had dark gray eyes that almost looked as black as his pupils. He has a mischievous smile on his face as he said, "Hey there, cousin. Long time no see."

Natsu stared at him for what seemed like an eternity until finally he rushed towards the man in black. He stared intently at his face, scanning his features for any clues about who he was. The man just smiled, looking amused at the situation in front of him. He chuckled to himself before saying, "Seen enough, little cousin? Convinced yet?"

Natsu looked him up and down once more before smiling and saying, "Yep! Welcome to Magnolia!"

Lucy looked dumbfounded at Natsu as she yelled, "Wait! You just looked at him and now you're convinced he's who he says he is!?"

Natsu looked over at her and gave a thumbs up. "Yep!"

Lucy turned her attention to the man. "Well, I'm not convinced. Who are you? Where'd you come from? How'd you find us? What was that? How do you know Natsu?"

The man gave an amused laugh before smiling and answering, "Should I answer in order? My name's Ryu Dragneel. I came from somewhere far away where I stayed with the dragons. One of my mentors, Igneel, told me to find Natsu. That was me training. I watched Natsu train with Igneel when we were younger and Igneel told me about the two of us. Any more questions?"

Wendy opened her eyes wide and asked, "Wait, you said you stayed with the dragons? Are you a Dragon Slayer, too?"

Ryu looked at her and smiled brightly. "Not exactly. I wasn't taught Dragon Slayer magic. That's something that's only passed on to a select few. No, I'm not Dragon Slayer. I'm a Spirit Walker, more commonly know as a Dragon Walker or just plain Walker. I got to choose what I wanted to learn by the Spirits." He looked over at Lucy, who had her Celestial Spirit keys hanging on her waist. "I even learned what I know from some of your spirits. Leo told me a lot about you."

Lucy's face turned bright red as she stammered, "W-what? What did he say about me? I didn't say he could tell perfect strangers about me!"

Ryu laughed loudly as he said, "He only told me the good stuff. Apparently, he's very fond of you. He's very glad to be your friend." The angry look on Lucy's face disappeared, but the redness of her cheeks didn't. "So, even though I learned my magic from the spirits themselves, I stayed with the dragons and learned how to fight and strengthen myself. The magic I learned from them is called Dragon's Essence. It could be considered a form of Dragon Slayer magic by some people, but I think of it as something else entirely. Although it could be used to kill dragons, it wasn't made for it. Dragon's Essence was created by the dragons themselves with the intent of teaching their human allies after the war so that they could keep order and peace within their own race. You see, many people despised the dragons. They wanted nothing to do with them since some dragons had hunted down and destroyed human cities. Even though many dragons allied with the humans to stop the other dragons, lots of humans still hated them. So, after the war, the humans that hated the dragons would attack the humans that allied with the dragons. So, the dragons created a magic that they could give to their allies to defend themselves."

Ryu looked over at Wendy and winked. "I learned all that from your foster mom."

Wendy's eyes went wide and she exclaimed, "You know Grandeeney!?"

"Yep. Sometimes when I was around, Grandeeney and I would talk while you played or practiced your support magic. She taught me how to use Hurricane Sword magic. "

Wendy blushed and held her hands behind her back. "You watched me when I was little?"

Ryu nodded his head. "I visited all the Dragon Slayers. I was told not to let any of you know of my existence, so I could never actually interact with you. Even so, I was allowed to observe."

Natsu cleared his throat. "So you know that metalhead Gajeel, too?"

Ryu looked surprised. "He's here!? I thought he would've found his way into a dark guild or even gotten himself killed. He was crazy as a kid. I can't imagine what he's like now."

Erza finally spoke up, "Well, he was in another guild called Phantom Lord. We declared war on them after he almost killed three of our guildmates and kidnapped Lucy."

Lucy subconsciously rubbed her neck where Gajeel had held her when he almost killed her.

"After the war ended," Erza continued, "Master Makarov invited Gajeel and one of his partners to join our guild."

Ryu raised his left eyebrow. "And you're ok with him being part of your guild? Even after what he did?"

Erza nodded slightly. "He was only following what his guild leader told him. When our guild was attacked by a few of our strongest members, Gajeel saved Natsu and allowed him to win."

Natsu's eyes flared up. "He did not! He only got in the way! I would've beaten Laxus on my own!"

Erza rolled her eyes. "Anyways, what did you want to find Natsu for? Mira said you traveled a long time to get here. I doubt you came all this way to say hi."

Lucy nudged Erza lightly. "Erza, don't be so mean. She's right, though. Why did you come all this way?"

Ryu's smile disappeared. He lowered his eyes and sighed. "I need help. I need to find someone who can help me...take control of something. Igneel said you could help me."

Natsu continued to stare at Ryu. Then he pointed at himself and said, "Me? You need my help? Want me to pound someone? Please say it's that tinhead."

Ryu looked up and yelled in an exhausted tone, "I need someone to help me take control of my emotions! When I get angry or scared, bad things happen that I can't control! Please!" As he said this, Ryu reached over and grabbed Natsu by the shoulders pleadingly.

Ryu's sudden outburst caused Natsu to stutter while trying to think of what to say. Instead, Erza walked up to Ryu and put her hand on his arm. "Come back to the guild with us. We'll sort this all out there. In the meantime, what are we going to do about that?" She pointed at the large crater in the ground a few feet away where Ryu had landed.

Ryu simply said, "Oh, right," as he let go of Natsu and turned towards the crater. He slid his foot forward and the ground rose up until it was even. As everyone started off towards the building, Ryu hesitated to follow them, but eventually sighed and walked up the hill. Ryu stopped about halfway from the shore and picked up his travel pack that he had left on the ground. As they walked, they would take turns asking Ryu questions about himself and his journey. After a few minutes, they reached the front doors of the guild. As they entered, they were once again greeted with smiles and laughter.

Natsu loudly yelled, "We're back! And we brought someone with us!" Everyone turned around and looked towards the group.

Mira, who was holding a tray with 3 beers and a plate of food on it, wandered over and noticed Ryu. "Oh, you came back!"

Ryu shrugged. "Well, they told me to come over."

"Well, I'm glad you're here. Now you can tell me all about yourself."

Ryu's face showed a slight look of panic. He held his hands up in front of him. "Oh, wait. No, I'm not staying. I just came to ask Natsu for a favor."

Natsu turned his head sharply at Ryu. "Wait a minute, you didn't come here to join Fairy Tail or even to say hi to me? You just came to ask a favor?"

"No, that's not it. It was great seeing you again, really. It's just, I've been on my own for my whole life. Sure, I stayed with the dragons and visited the spirit world often, but they were all just mentors, not family or friends. I've only had one partner, and I haven't seen him in almost a year. We've been friends since we were little, but we go off on our own sometimes. I'm not sure how I'd do in a group setting. I only really came for help, that's it," Ryu said apologetically.

Natsu grinned slyly. "Well then, how's this for ya? I won't help you out unless you join the guild. You can leave whenever you want, but you have to join."

Ryu squinted his eyes at Natsu, wondering if he could get out of this. "Well, how about I just leave then? Or how about I beat the information out of you?" Ryu extended his right arm to the side and lit his hand on fire.

Lucy stepped forward and said, "Hey, just calm down. Nobody needs to fight about anything. We'll just tell you what you want-"

"No." Natsu lit his own hand on fire, lifted it up, and pointed at Ryu. "If he wants to fight, I'm not gonna back down. Let's have a little cousin bonding time." Both he and Ryu grinned. Around them, multiple people stood up and stared at the scene in front of them.

Erza walked in between them, put a hand on each of their shoulders, and said, "You two are definitely related. Well then, let's take it outside. I don't want our guild getting destroyed for a second time this month."

"What's going on?" Everyone turned and looked up and saw Makarov standing at the railing on the second floor.

Ryu smiled and said, "If it's alright with you, I'd like to borrow Natsu for a little sparring time."

Makarov stared intently at the two boys with their hands on fire. He thought for a moment before saying, "Fine. But take it outside away from this building and from civilians."

Natsu smiled and pumped his fist in the air. "Alright! I'm all fired up!"

* * *

The entire guild gathered on the hill near the lake behind the guild. At Ryu's insistence, they had all backed up further than usual, so that there was a circle in the middle about 200 feet in diameter. Ryu and Natsu stood in the middle about ten feet away from each other. Around them, several people were cheering Natsu on. Behind Natsu, Wendy stood shakily next to Lucy, Erza, Happy, and Carla. Wendy looked up at Lucy and asked, "They're going to be alright, aren't they?"

Lucy looked down confidently. "Of course. I wouldn't worry about Natsu. He's the strongest person I've ever met. You saw how he fought during the whole Nirvana incident. I haven't met anyone who can defeat him for good." Even as she said that, Lucy was secretly unsure about what was going to happen. She was being truthful when she said Natsu was the strongest person she knew, but from what they saw at the lake when they met Ryu, she wondered just how powerful the older cousin really was. If things got out of hand, which they tended to do with Natsu, then they would have a major disaster on their hands.

"What if something happens? They're both really strong, so what if they go too far?" Wendy responded.

This time, Erza spoke up. "Don't worry. I won't let them get out of hand. And if all else fails, the Master will break it up." With that, they all turned their attention back to the duel about to happen.

Natsu and Ryu had been standing for a while now, not talking or moving. Natsu stood with his arms crossed, a mischievous smile plastered on his face. Ryu with his arms relaxed at his sides, his face showing no emotion at all.

After another 30 seconds, Natsu finally spoke. "You ready for this? In a few minutes, you'll be a part of this guild."

Ryu gave a small laugh. "Hmph. In a few minutes, you'll be on the ground getting ready to help me."

Natsu smiled even wider. "We'll see about that." He then lowered his arms to his sides, elbows bent and hands held outward, and lit his hands on fire. Ryu balled up his fists and set them ablaze, the muscles in his arms tensing up.

They stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. They slowly began circling each other in a counter-clockwise direction, moving further out from the center of the circle.

After a minute of silence, Wendy asked, "What are they doing? Why aren't they fighting?"

Happy said quietly, "They're studying each other. Making the first move puts you at a disadvantage. The first person to attack reveals one of their cards, while their opponent has all of his hidden. Knowing Natsu, and seeing as how they're related, it's only a matter of time before one of them becomes too impatie-"

Suddenly, Natsu yelled and charged forward. Flames burst from his feet and propelled him forward above the ground, heading straight for Ryu. Across from him, Ryu let out a gust of wind from his feet, launching him across the ground at an incredible speed. Natsu pulled his flaming fist back for a punch, when Ryu's fist suddenly emitted a freezing blast straight forward.


End file.
